Hatter’s Gold
by Renata Hopkins
illustrations by Matt Haworth
This historical fiction story is set in the West Coast mining town of Blackball in the early 1900s. Laurie, a twelve-year-old boy whose father is a coal miner, tells the story. When the miners go on strike, Laurie realises his family won’t be able to afford the new boots he needs. Laurie sets off to find some gold. Instead he finds a fatally injured old miner (a “hatter”) who opens up the possibility that there are more options than mining.